The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-06

| ''None of them come regular. / have
worked here a long time and have seen rome
of them but once"
| A new thought arose. Possibly all this
reflection may be wrong. There must after
| all, be some secret JUNCTION, some mysterious
virtue, in these ashes that make them of
greater worth than the halfmillon on
mausoleum. That can't be carried off. 1t
must really be a sentiment.
| Sleeping in the Gods acre. below the
| Vanderbilt tomb are the graves of many an
honest burgher, chief among them the
ashes of the mighty Commodore. Many a
man who, no doubt, made Others happy in a
simple way; many man who lived a kind
| ly life and died an exemplary death lies
there; but there is not even one man TO
guard all the other graves on Staten Island,
or for that matter six men to guard all the
graves i'll all the graveyards that lie from
| ocean to ocean on the continent. Can it be
that the ashes of this Vanderbilt contain
! some hidden power, the secret alchemy that
turns common metal into gold! In an Ara
| bian tale there is told of a handful of ashes
scattered to the winds that would raise a
! crop of gold-bearing, el-producing, life
| giving growth. Perhaps there is another here,
and that to keep this secret the heirs of the
necromancer are guarding his clay in this
| prodiglous pyramid OF stone.
| But tins towering monument to wealth is
not the most suggestive incident of this
| scene. Wander down the hill into the hum
BILE churchyard. There is a secluded dell in
modest obscurity, but quite a distance below
the shadow Of the obtrusive dome, an I'M
cared-for tomb can be found. Near it l saw
a gravedigger, serene and even jocular,
like Hamlet's friend, quite ready to COM
ment on the quiet Contentmento of this placid
domain.
Whose tomb is thiSl" said |, more to
give him breathing spell from his work
than anything else.
He looked up and seemed rather delighted
to be able to give words to the thoughts that
had been crowding his mind and said:
THAT'S the Commodore's tomb"
! He spoke as if somewhat astonished that
| should have asked, and l think he rather
enjoyed the.surprised tone in which l in
quired
rs there no guard kept over Commodore
Vanderbilt's ashesP'
'Oh, no He never needed any, and I
| don't think his son needs any, either.n
| But why is not the Commodore buried
up in the big mausOleum with his song"
| That, you know, is just outside the
| graveyard, said the attendant on the city of
the dead, ''and the old Commodore always
wanted to be buried down here. He gave
these grounds to the Moravian Church,
where all his kinfol1s, as well as himself,
went to meeting for many a year, and he
had a mighty warm side for this whole set
| Element. The Commodore wasn't such q
hard man when you got right into him, y
and there was shrewd twinkle in the
gravedigger's eye as he added, But
mighty few men could get into him. Many
of the people round here thought a good
deal of the old man. He gave his son Viii
liam that farm just across the road yonder,
and in good many ways showed his liking
| for this place.
| 'If the Commodore was SO fond of Staten
| Island, and especially Of this little church
and this quiet graveyard, why is it that his
tomb is so neglected. Why no fresh flow
ers and shrubberyi-ande even the whitewash
is scaling from the stone, added.
| Eyes, that's so" unused the workman,
'but you see we hain't got no orders about
doing anything. The old vault stays just
as it is, year in and year out Mighty few
| people ever come near it, except out of Gu
riosity." Then he added, musingly; "But
/ reckon the old Commodore wouldn't care
much. He dind't go much on show nohow.
reckon he would be contented to know
| that his bones rest in this graveyard, no
matter how"
Iglanced at the huge stone edifice above
on the hill and reflected that the world had
| already recorded its estimate of the two
| men, greatly in favor of the old Commo-
| dore. After ALL what could be better than
that! The humble and secluded sepulchre,
| the green sod, the singing birds, and the
| whispering breeze were far more impress
sive, taken together with the greater monu-
ment he left in the mighty city within can
non shot and gave to his sou, than the grand
| pile kept intact by a sum that would feed
and clothe hundred-yes, 500-families.